FILE — A sign marks the entrance to Liberty University, March 24, 2020, in Lynchburg, Va. Liberty University has agreed to pay an unprecedented $14 million fine after the Christian school failed to disclose information about crimes that occurred on its Lynchburg campus, including those involving sexual assaults, the U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
The U.S. Department of Education imposed a record $14 million fine on Liberty University over rampant violations of federal law related to campus safety, authorities announced on Tuesday. The investigation into the university was prompted by a 2021 lawsuit alleging repeat mishandling of sexual assault complaints.
Federal officials issued the fine against the Virginia-based evangelical Christian institution for failure to comply with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security and Campus Crime Statistics Act. The law passed in 1990, mandates certain crime reporting requirements for schools that receive federal student aid funds.
The $14 million fine was assessed against Liberty as part of a settlement agreement over “material and ongoing violations” violations of their obligations under the Clery Act, including “its published crime statistics and treatment of sexual assault survivors,” the Department of Education said in a press release.
“This is the largest fine ever imposed for violating the Clery Act,” the agency said.
The penalty caps a two-year-long investigation that assessed the university’s compliance with federal law dating back to 2016.
In a 106-page report, regulators said they uncovered “serious, persistent, and systemic violations” over the seven years.
“During the review period, Liberty did not have an effective internal control structure or an adequate communication and coordination strategy to facilitate compliance with the applicable requirements,” the report reads.
The government found that Liberty lacked the administrative capacity to comply with the Clery Act between 2016 and 2023. As a result, the Jerry Falwell-founded university issued inaccurate and incomplete annual security reports, failed to collect, disclose, properly classify, and publicize crime statistics, and failed to issue emergency alerts and campuswide warnings.
The university was also seriously remiss in its obligations under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) — which amended the Clery Act.
“[T]he Department has found that, among other crimes, the University was especially neglectful in documenting the VAWA offenses of stalking, domestic violence and dating violence when at least one of these incidents occurred as a part of the same transaction or occurrence as a primary criminal offense,” regulators wrote.
The report spends significant time discussing those VAWA failures:
Liberty is reminded that the exceptions identified here constitute serious and persistent violations of the VAWA provisions of the Clery Act that, by their nature, cannot be cured. There is no way to truly “correct” violations of this type once they occur. The multiple and persistent failures to comply with the sexual violence prevention and response requirements of the Clery Act caused direct harm to victims of sex crimes and sexual misconduct as defined by the institution’s policies. These deficiencies also resulted in serious violations of Federal law that undermined the intended purpose of these provisions.
Regulators also cited Liberty’s lack of maintaining accurate and complete daily crime logs throughout the review period.
“Students, faculty, and staff deserve to know that they can be safe and secure in their school communities. We respond aggressively to complaints about campus safety and security,” Federal Student Aid Chief Operating Officer Richard Cordray said in a statement. “Through the Clery Act schools are obligated to take action that creates safe and secure campus communities, investigate complaints, and responsibly disclose information about crimes and other safety concerns. We will continue to hold schools accountable if they fail to do so.”
Liberty hailed the end of the inquiry but complained about the scope.
“The Department’s Clery Act Program Review covered more than seven years and is, by far, the most extensive review period of any higher education institution in the Department’s history of published reviews,” a press release issued by the school reads. “Many of the Department’s methodologies, findings, and calculations in the report were drastically different from their historic treatment of other universities. Liberty disagrees with this unfair treatment.”
As part of the agreement, Liberty agreed to spend $2 million over the next two years on campus security and compliance upgrades.
“While the university maintains that we have repeatedly endured selective and unfair treatment by the Department, the university also concurs there were numerous deficiencies that existed in the past,” the school’s press release goes on. “We acknowledge and regret these past failures and have taken these necessary improvements seriously.”
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